[March 19, 2014]WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The U.S.
Justice Department has reached a $1 billion settlement with Toyota Motor
Corp over the automaker's handling of consumer complaints tied to
unintended vehicle acceleration and is set to announce the agreement as
early as Wednesday, CNN reported.

Sources familiar with the deal told CNN that Toyota was
expected to avoid criminal charges.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan has been probing
allegations the Japanese company misled U.S. authorities after
the complaints about the unintended acceleration emerged. The
acceleration issue prompted Toyota to recall millions of
vehicles beginning in 2009.

"Toyota has cooperated with the U.S. attorney's office in this
matter for more than four years," a Toyota spokeswoman told CNN.
"During that time, we have made fundamental changes to become a
more responsive and customer-focused organization, and we are
committed to continued improvements."

Officials at the U.S. Attorney General's Office could not
immediately be reached for comment.

The automaker last year paid more than $1 billion to resolve
economic-loss claims related to the recall.